Food Brands that Refuse to Die

Photo by: Credit: flickr/ Davescupboard

Bonomo Turkish Taffy

The story of Bonomo's Turkish Taffy is one of the wildest to ever come out of the candy industry. Invented around the turn of the 20th century in Coney Island, N.Y., it first gained popularity though sales in Woolworth's stores, but it really took off in the 1950s. Kids were encouraged to "Crack it up!," smashing the wrapped bar of taffy into a hard surface in order to break it

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Photo by: Credit: flickr/ Davescupboard

Bonomo Turkish Taffy

The story of Bonomo's Turkish Taffy is one of the wildest to ever come out of the candy industry. Invented around the turn of the 20th century in Coney Island, N.Y., it first gained popularity though sales in Woolworth's stores, but it really took off in the 1950s. Kids were encouraged to "Crack it up!," smashing the wrapped bar of taffy into a hard surface in order to break it into bits, which could then be eaten separately, melting into a smooth goo. The brand was made even more popular through sponsorship of some of the earliest kid's shows, including The Magic Clown, and it was purchased at the height of its popularity by Tootsie Roll Industries, who immediately began messing with the formula. They turned it into plain old taffy, sales bottomed out, and production ceased in the mid-1980s. That would have been the end of Bonomo's if not for two entrepreneurs, Kenny Wiesen and Jerry Sweeney. Stunned to learn that their favorite childhood candy couldn't be found anywhere any more, they bought the rights to it from Tootsie in 2002, spent five years tracking down the old recipe and a factory, and in 2010 the first bars of Bonomo's Turkish Taffy to be made in 25 years rolled off the production line. It's now available online and is making its way back into retail stores.

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